“Lady Day is unquestionably the most important influence on American popular singing in the last twenty years,” said Frank Sinatra back in 1958, and he was right. Billie Holiday (1915-1959) changed the way music was sung, and everybody who has come along since is in her debt.

Billie’s life was difficult, but her style was unfailingly glamorous: evening gowns (often of white satin), opera-length gloves, a gardenia in her hair, and fabulous jewelry. We were fascinated to discover the dress at right online; it’s a vintage “Original by Rudolf” from the 1930s, and you’ll no doubt recognize it from several photos of Miss Holiday. It’s not necessarily the actual dress Billie Holiday owned, but it’s obviously the same model.

To rock your own Lady Day look, here are the items we suggest, from left to right: